Hand loom



Patented Sept. 9, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAND LOOM Minna L. Eckert, New York, N. Y.

Application May 8, 1946, Serial No. 668,231

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to a hand loom for use in weaving yarn into squares which are later joined together for various types of articles.

The object of this invention is to make available to the public a type of hand loom. which is not only larger than those now on the market, so that elaborate designs can be woven on it, but it is so sturdy in its construction that heavy cotton yarn for rugs, also a lighter cotton yarn for table covers and mats can be woven on it, as well as worsted yarn for other articles, such as afghans, baby blankets, hats, scarves, handbags, etc.

The improved hand loom is less complex than other looms of a similar nature, and therefore the time and effort devoted to the work of weaving is greatly lessened on account of the special arrangement of the brads in accordance with this invention.

The invention consists of a hand loom frame of a square shape, upon one face of which there are arranged a certain number of brads, one pair at diagonal ends being corner brads, and the other pair of corners having spaces between the two nearest brads of adjacent frame members, this transposition of corner brads enabling the last yarn row on each side to be spaced slightly away from the brad rows, thus greatly aiding the weaver in the formation of the fabric square and resulting in longer loops which facilitate the later joining of squares to make the desired article. 7 V

The invention will be more fully described hereinafter, embodiments shown in the drawings, and the invention will be finally pointed out in the claim.

i In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the improved hand loom;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing the spacing between the brad rows and the adjacent yarn;

Fig. 4 is a plan view with the warp yarn added; Fig. 5 is a plan view with the warp yarn partially crossed with the weft yarn;

Fig. 6 is an end view of one frame member;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of two members angularly disposed to each other with a brad at the corner; and

Fig. 8 is a transverse section taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 2.

For convenience in connection with the drawings, in all views only 16 brads are shown in each row, instead of 32 the actual number used.

outer edges.

Similar characters of reference indicate the corresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring to the drawings, each member l0 has a diagonal end It and a top I2, which may be inclined as shown, or flat. Each frame member is of an inch in width and height. The assembled loom measures 9 /4 inches between The measurement between inner edges is 7 inches, and that between brad rows is 8 inches-on each side--thus making an 8- inch woven square before it is removed from the loom. When these four wooden frame members are assembled the bias cut corners are joined The brads are preferably 1'7-gauge headless nails disposed /4 inch from the inner edge. Approximately 721 of an inch long, they are embedded separately in each frame member and project upwardly /2 of an inch. There are 32' brads on each side, totaling 126, due to a space at two diagonal corners, one reason for which is for greater facility in weaving and for the purpose of making longer loops. These headless brads are spaced equidistantly apart A; of an inch) around the entire square, including the spaced arrangement at the two diagonal corners, which results in the corners being woven as closely as the rest of the square. The large number of brads, spaced close together, make it possible to weave large squares with elaborate designs.

The arrangement of the bores l4 and brads I3 is such that brads 2!! and 23 are placed at two diagonally opposite corners. After 31 brads have been spaced equidistantly from the corner brads 2t! and 23 along each two of the angularly disposed adjacent frame rnembers, the remaining corners, as at V I8 and 19 contain no brads.

There is a space between the adjacent brads equal to the equidistant spaces between the rest of the brads.

One of the important objects of the pairs of diagonally disposed corner brads and of the pairs of diagonally disposed corner spaces is that, for instance. when the first strand of yarn is placed over one corner brad and directed to the end brad of the opposite member, the yarn is at an inclination to the adjacent frame member. The end rows, when too close to the brads, make more difficult weaving, and also as, a result the loops are too short to enable the weaver to join the squares together easily and quickly. As the cor- 3 ner spaces are of the same width as that between the other brads, these corners of the square may be Woven as closely as elsewhere.

One of the main objects of arranging the brads in the order described is to have them equidistantly apart throughout the perimeter so that the woven square is uniformly compact throughout. The two corner brads are essential for this purpose, for were they removed the width'of the spaces between these corners would be instead of A,", as is otherwise the case; they also serve the purpose of tying the ends of the warp, and weft together, which, when inserted, formfla loop and also reinforce the corners; were they eliminated there would be one loose end on opposite sides of the loom which could not form a loop and would simply be inserted loosely, leaving two places without loops, and, therefore, those parts could not be joined uniformly and effectively to another square, which uniformity is an important feature of the improvement.

Thus, the large number of brads, spaced close togetherand equidistantly apart throughout the perimeter, including the open end spaces, together with the individual looping of the successive brads, make it possible not only to weave a closely compact and uniform square which can be joined to other squares easily and expeditiously, but to weave a large one with an elaborate design. The individual looping of successive brads has another advantage in time saving, since the weaver is not required to consider which brads to cover in certain operations.

The mode of operation in using the improved hand loom is as follows: In Fig. 4 the end of the yarn is tied to the corner brad 20 at X, the character X being applied to the frame to designate the starting place for the laying of the warp. The yarn is then brought down to brad 21, which is spacedfrom the last brad of the row onthe other side of the diagonal 22 a distance of a quarter of an inch. The yarn is successively passed around each succeeding brad on opposite parallel sides of the hand loom, namely, the upper and lower frame members (Fig. 4) ,until it reaches the corner brad 23, where diagonal ends of frame members meet, indicated by 26 leaving an extra length 26. Here there is applied to the frame a permanent marking, representing a partial circle or arc, indicating'to the weaver the point at which the weft is to begin.

As a means ofmeasuring the length of yarn to be used for half of the weft, the yarn is wound loosely to the left around the brad border about eight times. Were the entire weft yarn measured at this time, the longer piece would be more difficult to handle.

The loom is now turned so that this corner brad 23 adjacent the arc insignia, is at the upper right corner,- as shown in Fig. 5, and the actual weaving is begun, with the looping of the weft yarn in the same manner as described for the warp yarn, however, in the transposed position beginning with brad 29.

Using a long upholstery needle with a blunted and smoothed point, the weft yarn 25 is inserted under or over each successive row of warp yarn, if a plain woven square is desired (special instructions would be given for making designs), the frame being turned on the completion of every row so that the weaving is always from right to left.

Thus it will be seen that this method of weaving: isextremely simple and expeditious, since 4 every brad is covered successively during one operation.

When the end of this first length of weft yarn is reached and half of the square is woven, another end of yarn is tied around this and the next uncovered brad, leaving two loose ends.

To obtain the balance of the length needed for the completion of the weft, the yarn may be measured back and forth aroundall the uncovered brads until the last brad 20 at X is reached, leaving an extra piece 2'! for later insertion, and the yarn is then cut from the ball; or, if preferred, it may be wound loosely to the left around the brad border about eight times, as before stated, which is a simple method of determining the length of yarn needed for the balance of the weft.

With this second length of yarn the weaving back and forth, together with the placing of the yarn around each successive brad, is continued until brad 2!] is reached. The needle and yarn are drawn through the knot on brad 20 and the square is complete.

The removal of the square from the loom is simple and effortless. All that is necessary is to lift it, with fingers underneath, from the headless brads.

After removal from the loom, there is a slight contraction in the woven square. When it has reached its normal shape, the loose ends are woven in separately with a darning needle, and the three knotted portions serve as loops in uni formity with the other equally disposed loops.

The various squares made by the use of the improved hand loom are joined together for the article desired. by weaving separate lengths of yarn back and forth through the single loops that were formed by placing the yarn around each successive brad.

It will-be noted that by having the diagonal corners provided with. a brad, and the remaining diagonal corners provided with a space, there are always thirty-two brads counting from, and including in the counting the corner brad, of each row of brads.

Where it was stated that the loops are long and protrude from the final wovenpiece, it was not intended to mean that they are excessively long, but only sufiicientl long to enable the weaver to join the squares together with greater ease and uniformity than would have been the case had the last rows been close to the brads.

The brads on the opposed parallel frame members are disposed staggered to each other since the first and corner pin of each opposed frame member is at an opposite end of the frame-member.

The invention has been described in connection with the embodiment shown in the drawings, but I do not wish to be limited to the details thereof exceptin those defined in the claim.

I claim:

In a hand loom having a frame substantially square in shape with opposite pairs of parallel side frame members forming pairs of opposed diagonal corners, the combination of a plurality of equally spaced brads extending longitudinally aligned along each of the frame members circumferentially around the frame, with one of the said brads disposed at each of a pair of opposite diagonal corners of said frame, each of said corner brads being disposed the same distance from its adjacent brad on the angularly disposed-frame members forming said diagonal corner, the end brads on each of said frame members near the remaining pair of diagonal corners being spaced from each other the same distance as the distance between the equally spaced brads, with said last named pair of diagonal corners having each a space without a brad, the brads on each of said frame members being equal in number, whereby the warp yarn is tied to one corner brad on one side member of the frame, and beginning with the end brad of the opposed side of the frame, is passed up and down successively around each individual brad until the second corner brad, diagonally opposite to the first corner brad, is reached, the weft yarn being joined with the warp yarn on a corner brad, and woven acros with the warp from said end brad to the end brad of the opposed side of the frame, and is passed up and down successively around each individual brad REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,159,265 Gash May 23, 1939 2,227,550 Moore Jan. 7, 1941 2,177,981 Haglund Oct. 31, 1939 2,186,692 Boyer Jan, 9, 1940 2,292,356 Belanger Aug. 11, 1942 2,117,350 Nelson May 17, 1938 

